I’m trying to decide what to do about having to extract 4 severely decayed molars (the ones before the last one, both arches and sides, no wisdom teeth yet) and I keep going back and forth between mesialization and getting a dental implant.
I don't want to lose bone mass or resorb.
From what I understand:
- Implants are fixed, don’t have a periodontal ligament, and fuse directly to the bone. I’ve also read they’re generally not recommended in kids because they don’t adapt with growth. Some people claim they can limit facial development/adaptability, though they do preserve bone in the area.
- Mesialization would mean moving my back teeth forward to close the gap. It takes longer, since the old socket needs to resorb, but the idea is that it keeps everything more “natural” and supposedly maintains bone and facial adaptability.
What I’m unsure about is the facial impact. I’ve seen claims that mesialization won’t cause facial flattening or collapse, but I’m a bit skeptical of that.
Has anyone here gone through either option? I have not been able to find before and afters, and all research I did does show favor for mesialization but I'm not sure.